Skip to main content

DAFNI tests UK road infrastructure resilience

A new computer system is said to offer huge benefits for maintaining transport infrastructure. This is the product of a world-leading computing project and is called Data and Analytics Facility for National Infrastructure, DAFNI. The project commenced in 2017 to provide world-leading research capabilities to help improve the UK’s infrastructure systems, by making them more resilient and effective. DAFNI can help ensure the UK’s infrastructure is sustainable by running detailed simulations that show a range
June 10, 2019 Read time: 3 mins

A new computer system is said to offer huge benefits for maintaining transport infrastructure. This is the product of a world-leading computing project and is called Data and Analytics Facility for National Infrastructure, DAFNI. The project commenced in 2017 to provide world-leading research capabilities to help improve the UK’s infrastructure systems, by making them more resilient and effective.

DAFNI can help ensure the UK’s infrastructure is sustainable by running detailed simulations that show a range of scenarios and outcomes, which allows key decisions to be made.

DAFNI is a national computational resource available to academia and industry, allowing this essential research to be undertaken to ensure stability for the UK’s long-term planning and investment in transport for example.

DAFNI is being designed and developed by STFC’s Scientific Computing Department, the UK facility that provides large scale high performance computing facilities, computing data services and infrastructure.

After two years of development, the DAFNI team are ready to start making a difference to the resilience of UK infrastructure in the face of catastrophic events, with a host of successful pilot schemes already in place.

4035 SCD’s Sam Chorlton, project lead for DAFNI, said: “DAFNI has come so far in the two years since its inception, and it is already having a huge impact in making the country’s infrastructure more resilient and sustainable – as we can see with the already successful pilot projects.

“DAFNI is the tool that the infrastructure industry has been waiting for and it has the power to make a real difference to people’s everyday lives. The team and I are looking forward to working with some of the country’s top planners and policy-makers to ensure we are getting the best systems in place for the future of the UK.”

The powerful computing resource will be able to simulate and plan for the infrastructure demand for services for every household in the UK. It offers innovative software which will allow researchers across academia, UK Government and related industries to study complex infrastructure systems in cities and in the UK as a whole.

DAFNI is funded through an £8 million investment from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, as part of the UK Collaboratorium for Research on Infrastructure and Cities (UKCRIC).

%$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 link-external https://www.dafni.ac.uk/ false https://www.dafni.ac.uk/ false false%>
 

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • ITF Summit 2019: IRF to host a high-level debate on The Belt & Road
    May 15, 2019
    The theme of the 2019 ITF Summit which will be hosted in Leipzig (Germany) on 22-24th May has as its theme “Transport Connectivity for Regional Integration” and will gather as usual top decision-makers from the public and the private sector. IRF will be hosting together with China Highway and Transportation Society and the Black Sea Economic Commission (BSEC) a high-level debate on “The Belt & Road: Bridging the gaps for sustainable transport and growth in Eurasia”. Launched in 2013, the Belt and Road
  • Galliford Try aims to downsize its construction business
    April 25, 2019
    UK construction and infrastructure business Galliford Try is reviewing its construction business with a view to downsizing. “The review will reduce the size of the construction business, focusing on its key strengths in markets and sectors with sustainable prospects for profitability and growth, where we have a track record of success,” the company said in a written statement. “The board anticipates that this review will result in reduced profitability in the current year reflecting a reassessment of
  • Fluor and ACS Infrastructure Canada win Gordie Howe Bridge deal
    July 6, 2018
    A partnership including Fluor and ACS Infrastructure has been chosen to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the Gordie Howe International Bridge project. The client, Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority (WDBA), announced the appointment of Bridging North America group in the Canadian city of Windsor, across the Detroit River from Detroit in the US state of Michigan. The Gordie Howe International Bridge will connect the two cities by linking Interstate 75 and Interstate 96 in Michigan with the new
  • PPRS: come together for International Road Maintenance Day
    March 27, 2018
    The world’s leading highway associations have launched International Road Maintenance Day to focus people everywhere on the protection of their local road networks. International Road Maintenance Day will take place on the first Thursday of every April, speakers said on day two of the Pavement Preservation and Recycling Summit (PPRS Nice 2018). The first event will take place on April 5, 2018. “It will be one day per year to talk about the maintenance of our roads,” said Juan Jose Potti, the president of